Highway litter costs Missouri $5 million a year

ST. LOUIS -- State officials say cleaning up litter along Missouri's highways costs about $5 million a year.

And a spokesman for the Department of Conservation says that agency spends about $1 million a year to pick up litter in the state's forests, conservation areas and river access.

Spokesman Dan Zarlenga says the agency writes hundreds of tickets a year to litterbugs.

To bring attention to the problem, the Missouri departments of transportation and conservation are holding their annual No More Trash! effort, which runs through the month of April.

The state is seeking more volunteers to pick up trash this month. But mostly, they are asking Missourians not to litter in the first place.